Volcanoes National Park in Ruhengeri, Rwanda
The “Parc National de Volcans” (or PNV as it’s known by locals) lies along the Virunga Mountains, with 8 ancient volcanoes, which are shared by Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Just a short two hour drive from Rwanda’s capital of Kigali, the park is a central location for exploring some distinctly Rwandan experiences.
While a visit to the mountain gorillas is often at the top of visitor, the dramatic landscape also offers thrilling hiking and visits to the fascinating golden monkeys.
PNV is also one of Rwanda’s conservation epicenters, where many non-profit organizations base their operations.
Visitors can pay homage to the legendary scientist and gorilla advocate Dian Fossey with a hike to her tomb or a visit to the Dian Fosse Gorilla Fund that continues her legacy of research and advocacy to this day.
Near the park, the bustling and vibrant markets of Musanze are a place to immerse yourself into everyday Rwandan culture.
Go deep into the earth with Musanze’s caves – one of the area’s newest attractions.
Volcanoes National Park lies in northwestern Rwanda and borders Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda.
The national park is known as a haven for the rare and endangered mountain gorilla and golden monkeys.
It is home to five of the eight volcanoes of the Virunga Mountains, and spans 160 km2 covered in rainforest and bamboo.
The park was the base for the zoologist Dian Fossey.
The park was first gazetted in 1925, as a small area bounded by Karisimbi, Bisoke and Mikeno, intended to protect the gorillas from poachers.
It was the very first National Park to be created in Africa.
Subsequently, in 1929, the borders of the park were extended further into Rwanda and into the Belgian Congo, to form the Albert National Park, a huge area of 8090 km2, run by the Belgian colonial authorities who were in charge of both colonies.
In 1958, 700 hectares of the park were cleared for a human settlement.
Between 1969 and 1973, 1,050 hectares of the park were cleared to grow pyrethrum.
The park later became the base for the American naturalist Dian Fossey to carry out her research into the gorillas.
She arrived in 1967 and set up the Karisoke Research Centre between Karisimbi and Visoke.
From then on she spent most of her time in the park, and is widely credited with saving the gorillas from extinction by bringing their plight to the attention of the international community.
She was murdered by unknown assailants at her home in 1985, a crime often attributed to the poachers she had spent her life fighting against.
Fossey's life later was portrayed on the big screen in the film Gorillas in the Mist, named after her autobiography.
She is buried in the park in a grave close to the research center, and amongst the gorillas which became her life.
The Volcanoes National Park became a battlefield during the Rwandan Civil War, with the park headquarters being attacked in 1992.
The research centre was abandoned, and all tourist activities (including visiting the gorillas) were stopped.
They did not resume again until 1999 when the area was deemed to be safe and under control.
There have been occasional infiltrations by Rwandan rebels from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda in subsequent years, but these are always stopped quickly by the Rwandan army and there is thought to be no threat to tourism in the park.
The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) runs several activities for tourists, including:
• Gorilla visits – as of January 2015, there are ten habituated gorilla groups open to tourists, allowing for a total of 80 permits per day.
Each permit costs $1500.
Tourists report at the park head office by 7:00 for a pre-tracking briefing.
Once tourists meet the gorillas they spend an hour with them.
• Golden monkey visits.
• Climbing of Karisimbi volcano – this is a two-day trek with overnight camping at an altitude of 3,800 m.
• Climbing of Bisoke volcano – one day.
• Tour of the lakes and caves.
• Visiting the tomb of Dian Fossey.
• Iby’Iwacu cultural village tour
The majority of revenue from tourism goes towards maintaining the park and conserving the wildlife.
The remainder goes to the government and (around 10%) to local projects in the area to help local people benefit from the large revenue stream generated by the park.
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